Sheet metal container with vent opening



Aug. 12, 1947. H. A. FINK SHEET METAL CONTAINER WITH VENT OPENING Filed Jan. 2, 1945 INVENTOR- fz e nryu zur'l nh;

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Patented Aug. 12, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEET METAL CONTAINER WITH VENT OPENING Application January 2, 1945, Serial No. 571,083

1 Claim. 1

The invention has to do with a sheet metal container provided with a vent opening through which the container may be vacuumized or, if desired, gassed, after which the vent opening is closed by a drop of solder.

It often happens that in the closing of the vent opening with solder some portion of the solder will pass through the opening into the food product within the container which, of course, is Very objectionable. Many efiforts have been made to overcome this objection by pro- Viding a protector at the inside of the container end which collects any solder passing through the vent opening. These protectors have been secured to the end by soldering or die shaping the container end, both of which are expensive operations and in other ways unsatisfactory.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive method of making and securing a protector cap to the inner side of a container end.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective means for the vent opening of the above type wherein the skirt of the cap is so corrugated as to provide spaced lines of frictional contact between the cap and a cylindrical wall on the can end and passages between said lines of contact through which gas may freely pass out of or into the container before the vent opening is closed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the upper end of the container showing the improved protective means for the vent opening applied to the container end.

Figure 2 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation, on an enlarged scale, showing the cap as applied to the vertical wall surrounding a depression in the can end which contains the vent opening.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectionaI view on the line a-a of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the inner side of the protective cap.

The invention is shown as applied to a sheet metal container which includes a body portion I having a closure end 2 secured thereto by the usual double seam 3. The closure end is provided centrally thereof with a depressed portion surrounded by a cylindrical wall 4. The bottom wall 5 of the depressed portion is perforated to provide an opening 6, usually referred to as a vent opening.

The purpose of the vent opening is to permit the container, after it is closed with the product therein, to be subjected to a vacuum means for withdrawing air from the container. It sometimes is desirable to replace the vacuum with an inert gas. After the treatment, whether the container is vacuumized or gassed, then it is sealed by placing a drop of solder on the 010- sure end so that the opening 6 is filled with the solder. This is usually referred to as a tipping operation.

When the solder is applied to the opening sometimes aportion of the solder drop will pass through the opening into the container. The novel feature of the present invention resides in a protective cap 1 which is attached to the underside of the closure end 2 so as to underlie the vent opening. If any solder, duringtipping, passes through the vent opening it will be trapped in the cap.

The cap 1 includes a solid arch-shaped top or end portion having a skirt'B extending therefrom. This skirt is corrugated as shown in the drawings so as to provide spaced inner ribs 99 between which are channels lfll0. The cap is so dimensioned that it can be forced onto the inner face of the cylindrical wall 4 in the can end and, when it is forced onto the cylindrical wall, the ribs 99 will make line contact therewith and theselines of contact will be spaced so that there are passages or channels l0 through which gas may freely pass. The attaching of the protective cap to the container end does not in any way interfere, therefore, with the vacuumizing of the can or the gassing of the can and, after this treatment, the closing of the vent openi g for the sealing of the can.

The protective cap can be readily made by a stamping operation from a single piece of metal. The cap, when attached to the can end, is secured thereto solely by friction and can therefore be quickly applied merely by placing the cap on the cylindrical projection at the inner side of the closure and applying pressure thereto.

contacting lines, the bottom of the cap being spaced away from the bottom of the depression so that gas is free to pass out of and, into the container through the space between the bottom of the cap and the bottom of the depression and the gas passages in the corrugated skirt befona the opening in the container end is closed.

HENRY A. FINK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date Ingram Nov. 25, 1941 Fenn Mar. 10, 1925 Ingram June 22, 1943 Breslauer Feb. 21, 1933' Gore-Lloyd Dec. 25, 1934 Norton Sept. 7, 1909 I-Iearn Mar. 26, 1907 Scofield Apr, 10, 1928 

